Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Court of Claws by Briar Boleyn

5 reviews

manaledi's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I give her credit in that this book was not all that much like the first even if both are classics of the romantasy genre. A much more interesting cast of secondary characters. The villains are so very evil, almost like caricatures.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Homophobia, Incest, Sexism, and Kidnapping

jessdaniellereads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, and Lesbophobia

anapthine's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

 

Thank you NetGalley and Starwater Press for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Often with sequels or the second book of a series, it is never as good as the original. However, this second instalment of the Blood of a Fae series is so much better. I cannot put into words how addicted I was to the plot. The twists and turns were often unpredictable, and I loved the new characters with their own backstories. This was an incredibly well written addition to Queen of Roses. 

We once again follow Morgan, after the events of the betrayal and deaths of Queen of Roses, where she deals with her grief and still is determined to save her little brother who is trapped under King Arthur’s reign and command. Surrounded by lies and the still a stranger Draven, she is forced to adjust in the court of Siabra, almost a lifetime away from her home. 

Oh my word, the ending I was not expecting and made me frustrated that the Empress of Fae (#3) could not come any sooner - I am so excited to read it. 

My favourite line from this book was: “Morally grey asshole.”

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia

booksalacarte's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Court of Claws- 3.5⭐️ 3🌶️

Betrayal
Fake relationship
Morally grey MMC
He Falls First
One bed
Surprise twist
Kingdom politics
Found family
Trials
War
Animal familiars
Miscommunication
🏳️‍🌈 Side Character Rep

This story begins right where the first left off. I really like how this reimagined Camelot is pulling more and more from the original. Links are being revealed and coming together. All of the little pieces of the original story finding their way into this one, just with a spin. It’s refreshing and highlights taking a misogynistic tale and restructuring it to not be so archaic.

The writing is a little stilted, it felt like the word “F*ck” was added in excessively (mostly by one character) to make things edgier… sometimes it was in juxtaposition to the story creating a jarring harshness of language in situations where you would expect more finesse. And I’m not talking about the bedroom scenes… those were good!

Anyway, it wasn’t off putting enough that I didn’t enjoy the book. Far more than the first, mainly because of the non-stop action and fast pace plot.

Morgan is an infuriating character. It’s almost like she is completely ignorant of court politics or intrigue. (Reminder, she was raised as a princess!) She only sees things in black and white. She is full of flaws; immature, annoyingly defiant for terrible reasons, stubborn, wishy-washy as hell, and seemingly purposefully and idiotically obtuse. Her character arc isn’t evident yet… hopefully she will grow in the next book… and says “f*ck” in more appropriate instances, instead of throwing it around because her character needs to be more daring and grown up… She just sounds like a middle schooler on a playground trying to show how badass she is by saying the worst curse word she can think of.

Draven seems to be an enigma with his loyalty and willingness to do what has to be done. Talk about the definition of “Morally Grey”. A softie with a hard exterior. Exactly what a morally grey man should be. He has killed, been exiled, caught for Morgan and himself, sacrificed himself and his kingdom. I think he is well written… as well written as any other fantasy romance MMC. They all have flaws.

The exmoors are so cool! I’m a sucker for animal familiars. If something happens to them I’ll riot.

The side characters are endearing. I’m undecided if I can get past Morgan’s poor character arc enough to read on… if I do, it’s only for Draven and the exmoors.

Thank you NetGalley and Starwater Press for the advanced reader copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

seetaylorwrite's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was even more riveting than the first! Morgan and Draven are in a new setting with new challenges and new faces. The banter is still wonderful and feelings begin to emerge as the slow burn comes to fruition. My heart is still shattered over certain events at the end of Queen of Roses, and we see Morgan wrestle with the feelings of grief and guilt associated with that.

My favorite of the new faces, I believe is Odessa. She’s fierce and loyal, trusting Draven every step of the way. She’s a fighter and just… amazing.

It was just absolutely incredible and I’m so sad I’ve finished it so quickly. I wasn’t able to put it down. Come on November!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Infertility, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death